Holder and clamp



Sept. 1 1931. E. HQWETHERBEE 1,821,433

' HOLDER AND CLAMP Filed March 29, 1930 [N VEN T OR EARL H. WE THEEBEE ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 1, 1931 warren STATES EARL H. WETHERBEE, OF ST.PAUL, MINNESOTA HOLDER AND CLAMP Application filed; March 29,

This invention relates to an. improved holder and clamp, particularlyadapted for use to adjustably support a receptacle or other article.

A further object of the invention is to provide a clamping devicecomprising a jaw adapted to be engaged with a suitable support andhaving means thereon for demountably supporting an article such as anash tray, the jaws of said device being provided with concaved surfaceswhereby the jaws may be secured to a cylindrical support such, forexample, as thestandard of abridge lamp or the steering post of anautomobile. A further object is to provide a clamping device having awedge-shaped member mounted thereon and adapted for rotary adjustment,said member having a spring bolt engageable with a ratchet to secure themember in an adjusted position and whereby an ash tray or other articlesupported upon the device may be adjusted to the desired positionregardless of the angle of the supporting member to which theclampingdevice may be attached.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the followingdescription and accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in theannexed claims.

In the accompanying drawings, there has been disclosed a structuredesigned to carry out the various objects of the invention, but itis tobe understood that the invention is not confined to the exact featuresshown as various changes may be made within the device with 1930. SerialNo. 489,936.

Figure 5'is a detail sectional view on the line 55 of Figure 1, showingthe ratchet device for retaining the member in adjusted position; and

' Figure'6 is a view on a smaller scale,

showing the device attached to the edge of a stem 4 is provided with theusual bar 7,

whereby it may be rotated to operate the movable jaw 3. In Figure 1, theclamp is shown secured to the rail 8 of a card table v The fixed jaw 2is provided with inclined grooves 11 and correspondingly shaped tongues12 adapted to be received in grooves 13 provided upon the article to besupported as, for example, the receptacle 14, which may be an ash tray,or some other article which it is desired to support. By thus supportingthe receptacle 14 upon the fixed jaw 2, the receptacle may readily bedetached from the fixed jaw 2 of the clamp, as shown in .Figure 2. Theinclined grooves 13 on the receptacle 14 are adapted to receive thetongues 12 on the fixed jaw 2 and the tongues 15 provided upon thereceptacle 14 are similarly adapted to be receive'din thecorrespondingly shaped grooves 11 pro- .vided upon the fixed jaw 2. Bythe provision of these grooves and tongues upon the fixed jaw and thereceptacle, the latter may be quickly attached to and detached from thejaw 2, as will readily be understood by reference to Figuresl, 2, and 3.

In the drawings, a receptacle 14 is shown provided with a small tray 16at its upper or open end, pivotally connected to the side walls thereofby suitable pivots 17 and 18, the latter being provided with a fingergrip as shown in lFigure '3. Ashes and cigar butts may be placed in thetray 16, after which the latter may be rotated by the j finger grip 18,causing the contents of the tray to drop into the receptacle 14, as willreadily be understood.

A feature of the invention resides in the means provided on the plateportion 6 of the clamp for supporting the receptacle when the clamp issecured to an inclined support 19, such as shown in Figure 4, andwhereby the receptacle may be positioned in a vertical or uprightposition regardless of the angularity of the support 19.

A member 21 is rotatably mounted upon the plate 6 by means of a stud 22having a threaded terminal received in threaded engagement with theplate portion 6, as shown in Figure 1. The member 21 is provided withinclined grooves 23 and tongues 24 corresponding to those provided. uponthe fixed jaw 2. The grooves 23 and tongues 24: are adapted to beengaged by the tongues 12 and grooves 13, respectively, provided uponthe receptacle 1 1 to detachably support the receptacle upon theclamping device.

A member 21 is adjustably supported upon the plate6 and is retained inadjusted position by means of an internal ratchet 25 and a spring bolt26, the latter being slidably mounted in a socket 27 provided in themember 21. An off-set tooth 28 is provided upon the bolt'26 and isshapedto engage the teeth of the ratchet 25, as shown in Figures 1 and 5. Asmall spring 29 constantly. urges the bolt 26 in an outward direction soas to cause the tooth 28 to engage the teeth of the ratchet 25 and thushold the member 21 in adjusted position upon the plate 6. In'Figure 4,the outline of the receptacle 14 is indicated in broken lines,

and the receptacle is shown positioned inan upright position, while thesupport 19 upon which the clamp is secured is angularly disposed.

Figure 6 illustrates the clamp attached to the edge of a table 81. When,thus positioned, the member 21 is adjusted so as to bring the springbolt 26 substantially in alinement with the threaded stem 4, so as tosupport the receptacle in an upright position, as shown.

The jaws 2 and 3 are provided with con caved faces 32 and 33,respectively, as shown in Figure 1, so that they may grip a cylindricalsupport such as the one shown in Figure 4; and retain the device thereonwithout relative movement. The jaws 2 and 3 and also the adjacent faceof the plate 6 are preferably lined with a suitable material such asfelt 3% to prevent the device from marring the surface of the support towhich it may be secured.

, The novel clamp herein disclosed has been found very useful in that itprovides means whereby a receptacle, or other article such as a tray,may be detachably supported upon the edge of'a table, the standard of abridge lamp, an automobile steering post, or the instrument board of anautomobile, and the receptacle adjusted to the desired positionregardless of the position of the support to which it may be attached.

In the drawings, I have shown the noval clamp used as a means forsupporting an ash tray or other receptacle but it is to be understoodthat it may be used as a support for various other articles, which it isdesired at 1 times to attach to the edge of a table or other support..The article to be supported upon the clamp must, of course, be providedwith the inclined grooves and tongues shown in the drawings.

I claim as my invention:

1. A device of the class described, comprising a plate portion having afixed jaw at one end thereof and a movable jaw cooperable with saidfixed jaw to secure the device to a suitable support, a member mountedon said device and adapted for rotary adjustment, said member havinginclined grooves and tongues adapted to be engaged by correspondinglyshaped grooves and tongues provided upon an article, whereby saidarticle may be detachably and rotatably supported upon said device.

2. A device of the class described, comprising a plate portion having afixed jaw at one end and a movable jaw cooperable therewith to securethe device to a support, means on said fixed jaw adapted to detachablysupport an article, a member mounted on said plate portion and adaptedfor rotary adjustment, said member having means for detachablysup-porting an article thereon, and means for locking said member in anadjusted position. i

3. A device of the class described, comprising a body portion having afixed jaw thereon, a complemental jaw movably mounted on said bodyportion and adapted to cooperate with said fixed jaw to grip a support,said jaws having concaved faces whereby they may grip a cylindricalsupport, means on said fixed jaw for detachably supporting an ash trayor other article thereon, a member mounted upon said body portion andadapted for rotary adjustment and also provided with means fordetachably supporting an article thereon, means for locking said memberin an adjusted position upon said plate portion, and the medial planesof said fixed jaw article attaching means and said adjustable memberbeing disposed at substantially right angular relation.

4. A device of the class described, comprising a body portion having afixed jaw and a movable jaw, adapted to grip a cylindrical support,means on said fixed jaw adapted to detachably support an article such asan ash tray, a member mounted upon said body portion and adapted forrotary adjustment, a spring actuated detent engage-

